Lazerette insert basket/box

[RussC]

Has anyone here built an insert basket to go in the lazerette? My wheels have been turning and I'd really like to see some ideas for construction, as well as hearing if you found it a useful addition. this would be for my Mac 25, but I would think this would have broad brand usefulness.

What I envision would be a basket or tray, or whatever you want to call it that has an outward facing lip at the top that would rest on the opening. 12-14" deep. if you wanted to take it out to recover items down in the black hole the basket could just be lifted out the top.

building out of fiberglass would be a pretty extensive job, but seems like the best end product material. or one could build a frame from aluminum or[?] with heavy fishing net sides and aluminum bottom attached to that. aluminum sheet is way expensive but would be suitable for sides as well??

just thinking out loud at the moment, but it sure seems like a useful item to construct.

tia,
Russ

 

[31seahorse]

Hello Russ,
I'm not familiar with the locker size on your boat, but I'll bet big dollars that Sumner has a solution for you.

My thought would be to find two "nesting" baskets with center handles and put them in partly filled with whatever you envision storing there. Lift one out with one layer of "stuff" and then see whether what you need is in the lower box. No construction needed.

On our boats over the years we have always used the WM brightly colored velcro ties on the underside of the hatch cover to hang our docklines. sometimes we installed a strip of wood on the underside of the lid and other times we screwed the colored ties directly to the underside of the lid. The choice depended on the thickness of the lid. We never wanted screw tips poking through the gel coat. Epoxy could secure the wood strip and then shorter screws could secure the velcro strips. When we open the lid the lines come up to be chosen for use.

 

[justsomeguy]

The access area to your transom could also use a keeper for that foam flotation, and add another place to store lines and such.

 

[RussC]

Hello Russ,
I'm not familiar with the locker size on your boat, but I'll bet big dollars that Sumner has a solution for you.

Sumner has a lot of great modifications but I don't think he has anything like what I'm thinking of on his 26.
The lazarette on my 25 is slightly wedge shaped but has a roughly 12" x 26" opening. it's about 13" down to the rear divider stub wall and about 26" down to a large tub area that also goes back under the cockpit floor (which is, I'll bet, where most things go that get tossed in there).

I like both ideas for stowing spare lines under there, but will wait and see what I end up doing for a basket first. A basket would also cure the loose floatation block thing justsomeguy mentioned.

Russ

 

[Brian D]

Very interesting. I bet if I go to the 99¢ store we could find some laundry baskets that might fit. Or at least could be modified to fit.

 

[JerryA]

I don't have an insert, but what I did was add a couple smaller stackable closable containers and added a cord to each. The other end of the cord is attached within easy reach. If I need the container I can use the cord to put it up and out of the deep hole. I got tired of diving head first into there to get stuff. The previous owner had a bigger container, but once it's loaded up with stuff it was too heavy to easily get it out.

JerryA

 

[RussC]

Very interesting. I bet if I go to the 99¢ store we could find some laundry baskets that might fit. Or at least could be modified to fit.

Hey that's great Brian. you must have a very well equipped 99c store there in Pendleton.
The dimensions of the opening are 12" at the stern. 14 1/2" towards the bow, 27 1/4" width port side and 27 1/2" width starboard. anything 12" - 13 1/2" deep would be fine. when you find one like that with a flange strong enough to hang in the opening be sure you let me know. I'll even double the 99c for your effort.

Thanks,
Russ

 

[RussC]

I don't have an insert, but what I did was add a couple smaller stackable closable containers and added a cord to each. The other end of the cord is attached within easy reach. If I need the container I can use the cord to put it up and out of the deep hole. I got tired of diving head first into there to get stuff. The previous owner had a bigger container, but once it's loaded up with stuff it was too heavy to easily get it out.

JerryA

I can see how that would be easy to do and would work pretty well Jerry. thanks for the tip.

Russ

 

[RussC]

In conclusion:
As is often the case, my visions sometimes morph into something a bit different than first dreamt of, due to the materials available, or the amount of effort involved. the laz opening on my mac 25 is such an odd shape that a drop in compartment would have had to be fabricated from scratch to work. it's ok, as I kinda like this sliding arrangement that I ended up using better anyway. I'm still on the lookout for a slightly larger box, but the planter box shown here works pretty well for now, and it's much sturdier than those more common clear Sterlight boxes from Wally world etc.
For the framework, I used western red cedar throughout. won't easily rot and it's less prone to warp than some other woods. For the slides on the box I riveted on sections of 1 1/4" aluminum angle, with a small wooden angled shim to make up for the slanted sides of the planter box. the aluminum pieces ride in the grooves cut into the sides of the main rails.

Once bolted (rear) and screwed (front) in place it gives us a lot of room for incidentals that we want quick access to wile sailing. snacks, water, towels, fishing tackle, etc. The sliding box stays in position via a 1/4" pin, dropped into the top front of the outer rail, which also passes through a hole drilled through the aluminum slider.

With the box slid back under the seat area, access is opened up to the black hole below where spare sails and other less often used items can be stowed. There's also 4 large hooks on the back of the outer rail to hang spare anchor and docking ropes.

Current distance between the rails is 11.5". there's room for a box about 3" wider (but limited beyond that by the narrowing hull area towards the stern) and 1" deeper in this space, and if I find one I like I've made it easy to widen the framework to accommodate. I'm happy with it for now however.

 

[fred1diver]

neat idea

 

[JerryA]

Pretty nice solution. Like the slider.

JerryA

 

[THECUSCUS]

Very nice idea and execution of said idea.

 

[51RD55]

Great solution. We are looking to do something in ours at once other things are taken care of. Thanks for sharing!